Edouard forecast to become first major Atlantic hurricane since Sandy

Edouard became the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season at 11 a.m., and forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predicted it would become the first major hurricane with winds of 120 mph by Tuesday.

If it does, Edouard would become the Atlantic’s first major hurricane since Hurricane Sandy in October of 2012.

Hurricane Edouard was swirling in the Central Atlantic was not a threat to land. It was moving northwest at 16 mph with top winds of 80 mph and was forecast to begin tracking north and then northeast after Tuesday. The storm was forecast to become extratropical by Friday.

On the forecast track, Edouard will remain well east of Bermuda.

Although the storm poses no threat to land, a Hurricane Hunter aircraft was sent to investigate the system for research purposes.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Basin, disturbance 92L, which was responsible for dumping heavy rain on Palm Beach County last week, remained disorganized in the Gulf of Mexico. NHC forecasters said high wind shear was keeping it in check, and they said chances of it developing into a tropical depression or storm were near zero. Nevertheless, it should bring heavy rain to Texas this week.

No other tropical threats are on the horizon over the next five days, NHC forecasters said. The long-range GFS model hints at a system trying to spin up toward the end of the month in the northwestern Caribbean, and later entering the Gulf of Mexico.

The back side of 92L pumped more rain into South Florida Saturday and early Sunday morning. Palm Beach International airport reported 1.54 inches of rain through 8 a.m., and some areas of West Palm Beach received more than 2 inches overnight. Palm Beach measured an unofficial 0.56 of an inch.

By Wednesday, a cold front is expected to stall over or near the area, National Weather Service forecasters in Miami said. As a result, rain chances jump to 70 percent Wednesday and Thursday and remain around 60 percent through next weekend.